Meeker



Jan. 31, 1956 MEEKER HYDRAULIC PUMP AND VALVE UNIT Filed Jan. 10 1951 Lloyd Meeker INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent HYDRAULIC PUMP AND VALVE UNIT Lloyd Meeker, San Jose, Calif.

. Application January 10, 1951, Serial No. 205,335

1 Claim. (Cl. 103-3) This invention is directed to, and it is a major object to provide, a hydraulic pump and valve unit adapted for ready mounting on tractors of the type which are not equipped with a hydraulic pump; the purpose of the unit being to actuate and effectively control power cyl inders or rams of implements supported on, or trailed by, the tractor.

Another important object of the invention is to provide, in a relatively small, compact unit, an oil reservoir, a pressure pump, and one or more control valve assemblies for regulating or controlling the flow of hydraulic pressure to and from the power cylinders of the implement; the unit also including a hand lever to operate each control valve assembly. Such hand lever, while a unitary part of the device, is conveniently accessible to the tractor operator.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic pump and valve unit which includes a mount for easy attachment of the unit to the existing power takeoff base or face plate of a conventional tractor, with the pressure pump then driven from the power take-oif shaft.

A further object of this invention is to incorporate, in the unit, a valve assembly of novel construction and function; the valve assembly being of a design which minimizes the load thereon when in use, and additionally pressure leakage through each valve assembly with resultant creeping of the related power is avoided.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a hydraulic pump and valve unit which is designed for convenience and economy of manufacture; the unit being relatively simple in structure and easy to assemble.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a practical and reliable hydraulic pump and valve unit, and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the hydraulic pump and valve unit as mounted on a tractor.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the unit, partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of one form of valve assembly which may be incorporated in the unit.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the novel hydraulic pump and valve unit is shown, in Fig. 1, as mounted on a tractor 1 for use; the unit being indicated generally at 2 and upstanding adjacent the operators seat 3.

The hydraulic pump and valve unit 2 is secured by an attachment flange 4 to the power take-off base or face plate 5 at the rear end of the final drive housing 6 intermediate the rear wheels 7 of the tractor 1.

The unit 2 includes, at its lower end, a bevel gear case 8 which embodies the attachment flange 4; the power take- 2,732,803 Patented Jan. .31, 1956 ice oif shaft 9 of the tractor projecting into the bevel gear case8.

A vertical drive shaft 10 is journaled in an upstanding neck 11 which projects upwardly from the bevel gear case 8; the adjacent ends of the shafts 9 and 10 being connected by meshing bevel gears 12.

At its upper end the vertical drive shaft 10 is connected to one gear of a vertical-axis gear pump 13 mounted in an enlarged head 14 on the upper end of the neck 11; the gears of the pump 13 being retained in place by a cover plate 15. 1

An upstanding valve enclosing body 16 projects upwardly from the enlarged head 14, and said body 16 includes a circular base 17 afiixed to said head 14 by screws 18. The body 16 encloses the valve assemblies of the unit 2.

The body 16 is surrounded by an exterior housing 19, which is sealed at its lower end with the base 17; the housing 19 being closed on top, and there being spacing between the body 16 and housing 19 at the sides and top thereof. This spacing forms an oil reservoir 20. The exterior housing 19 is maintained against displacement by a stud 21 which extends upwardly from the body 16 through the top of said housing 19; there being a retention nut 22 on said stud.

The body 16 preferably encloses two complete valve assemblies so that two separate rams or similar hydraulic units may be controlled. Each valve assembly consists essentially of a vertically movable valve plunger 23 slidable in a bore 24 in the body and having a side channel 36 arranged to establish alternate communication between a passage 37 leading from the pressure side of the pump 13 and one or the other of a pair of passages 38 leading from bore 24 and through the body 16 into the head 14 and extending thence to the periphery thereof for connection to conduits 39 leading to and from the ram to be actuated and controlled.

Vertically spaced ports 40 and 41 connect the bore with reservoir 20; the central port connecting with passage 37 when the valve is in a neutral position by means of a port 42 extending through the plunger from channel 36.

The other ports 41 are alternately placed in communication with the passages 38 when the plunger is shifted up or down to place the channel 26 in communication with the passages 38 in the opposite order.

Another passage 37a leads from the intake side of the pump 13 to the reservoir 20. The vertical movement of plunger 23 in one direction or the other thus feeds fluid to one end of the ram while relieving the fluid from the other end thereof; the pump constantly circulating fluid from the reservoir through the valve either in its open or closed position.

The plunger 23 is adapted to be manually actuated up or down as follows:

A rocker arm 43 is mounted on a short post 44 which upstands from the top of the housing 19; one end of such rocker arm being formed as a finger 45 which works in a slot 46 in the upper end portion of a rod 47 upstanding from the plunger 23, while at its other end the rocker arm 43 is fitted with a hand lever 48 which is readily accessible to the operator of the tractor 1 from the seat 3.

The described hydraulic pump and valve unit, with its included reservoir, is compact in structural design and is practical and reliable in operation; the unit being easy and convenient to mount on a tractor to provide a source of controlled fluid pressure where the tractor is not otherwise equipped with hydraulic pump mechanism.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction Ofthe device, still in practice such deviations therefrom may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

-Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent :are desired:

A hydraulic pump and 'valve unit attachment for a tractor having a-power take-off shaft, said uni-t comprising a valve body having abase, a valve in the body having *a' stem projecting therefrom "for actuation, a case depending from the body and having ahead on which the body base is mounted in direct Contact therewith, the 'case being adapted tobe-secured on the tractor, a housing mounted on the case and enclosing the body in clearance relation :to :form a-reservoi'r, a pump in the head adapted to be driven by the take-01f shaft, and means integral with the body, base, and head forming, when said base and head are mounted together, pressure and relief passages between the pump and the valve and reservoir respectively, and other passages between the valve and the peripheral wall of the head providing outlets arranged for connection to exterior use conduits.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,648,154 Steiger Nov. 8, 1927 1,661,550 Vincent ,M,ar...6, 1928 1,758,687 Chorlton May 13, 1930 1,951,751 Qooper r r ;Mar. 20, 1934 2,211,319 Qamerota Aug. 13, 1940 2,239,843 Feilcke et a1. Apr. '29, 1941 2,406,284 Fitch Aug. 20, 1946 2,456,019 Pettipiece Dec. 14, 1948 2,456,651 Schmiel Dec. 21, 1948 2,545,588 Pulse Mar. 20. 1951 2,546,565 Schneider Mar. 27, 1951 

